Scottish Executive

Asthma

Mr Bruce McFee (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many asthma patients there were in each NHS board area in each of the last 10 years.

Malcolm Chisholm: The information is not held centrally in the form requested. The following table gives an estimate of the number of asthma patients seen by GPs in the last five years, based on the activity of sample practices. It should be noted, however, that over these years the proportion of patients managed by practice nurses, community nurses and health visitors increased and information about these patients will not be included. From April 2003, data on patients seen by nurses as well as GPs has been collected, but is not yet ready for publication.

  

 Year
 Estimated 
  Number of Patients


 1998
 174,600


 1999
 151,200


 2000
 141,400


 2001
 139,600


 2002
 135,800

Birds

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with Her Majesty’s Government concerning the agreement on the conservation of albatrosses and petrels.

Allan Wilson: None. This is a matter for the UK Government.

  The Global Flyway Conference, hosted jointly by the UK and Netherlands, is to be held in Edinburgh next month. I am aware from the draft programme that some discussion is intended on the conservation of the albatross.

Care Commission

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive when the Care Commission will be self-funding.

Mr Tom McCabe: Our policy is that the Care Commission will be self-funding through fees by 2006-07. Fees for the regulation of childminders and children’s day care services will however continue to be subsidised.

Central Heating Programme

John Swinburne (Central Scotland) (SSCUP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S2W-6588 and S2W-6589 by Mrs Mary Mulligan on 11 March 2004, what the reasons are for the increase in the final cost to £180 million and the completion date being 2007 for the free central heating programme, in light of forecasts given in December 2003 of £108 million and 2006 respectively.

Mrs Mary Mulligan: I have asked Angiolina Foster, the Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. Her response is as follows:

  The completion of the central heating programme is set at:

  April 2004 for local authorities;

  during 2004 for housing associations;

  April 2006 for the private sector; and,

  because of the numbers involved, March 2007 for Glasgow Housing Association.

  There has been no increase in the estimated final cost of the central heating programme, which remains at £180 million. The £108 million figure relates only to that part of the programme relating to the private sector.

Central Heating Programme

John Swinburne (Central Scotland) (SSCUP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the reasons are for the reduction in the number of free central heating installations projected for completion by 2007 from the original number of households identified by assessors in 1996.

Mrs Mary Mulligan: I have asked Angiolina Foster, the Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. Her response is as follows:

  The targets for the central heating programme have remained unchanged since its launch in 2001. Estimates of the numbers eligible to receive assistance under the central heating programme have been refined on the basis of more up to date information. The eligibility rules have not been altered. The programme remains on track to provide every eligible applicant with a central heating system.

Central Heating Programme

John Swinburne (Central Scotland) (SSCUP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to include in its free central heating programme heating systems that have deteriorated and now require replacement since the introduction of the programme in 2000 and based on need identified in the Scottish House Condition Survey 1996.

Mrs Mary Mulligan: I have asked Angiolina Foster, the Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. Her response is as follows:

  Any applicant who meets the eligibility criteria set out in the central heating programme, and comes forward before the programme’s close, will receive a replacement central heating system.

Communities

Mr Bruce McFee (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive on what projects each local authority has spent its better neighbourhood fund allocations.

Ms Margaret Curran: Details of the projects supported through each local authority’s Better Neighbourhood Services Fund (BNSF) programme are included within the BNSF fund second annual reports. These are available on the web at:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/about/DD/H3/00014328/page600158604.aspx

Construction Industry

Bill Aitken (Glasgow) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether, in light of the effect on small companies in the construction industry of the insolvency of the main contractor, it will examine insolvency law in respect of those matters within its control.

Cathy Jamieson: Corporate insolvency law is almost wholly reserved to the UK Government under the Scotland Act 1998. It is for the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to review the effect of insolvency legislation on industry. The Enterprise Act 2002, which followed a recent DTI review, contains provisions to promote company rescues. These provisions will be of direct benefit to small businesses in Scotland (and in the rest of the UK) such as sub-contractors in the building industry.

Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made on the introduction of the Future Office System IT programme in the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.

Colin Boyd QC: The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service began introducing the first phase of the future office system (FOS) on 24 November 2003 at the Procurator Fiscal’s Office in Linlithgow and the implementation is scheduled to finish at the Procurator Fiscal’s Office in Glasgow in June 2004. By 23 March 2004 FOS was in use in half the Procurator Fiscal’s offices in Scotland.

Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how the capital refurbishment of Dumbarton Sheriff Court is progressing.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked John Ewing, Chief Executive of Scottish Court Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  The current phases of the refurbishment of Dumbarton Sheriff Court include major repairs to the roof, refurbishment of the external stonework, the creation of four new Sheriff Chambers and improvement of the custody suite.

  This work will be completed in early April 2004 and the facility will be fully occupied by May 2004.

Culture

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what impact television has upon culture and what strategy it has in place to use television to promote Scotland.

Mr Frank McAveety: The screen industries, including television, can provide a showcase for the best of Scottish creative talent. We have engaged with the broadcasters in Scotland and the independent producers of content for television by establishing the Screen Industries Summit Group. This industry-wide grouping is due to report to ministers in June 2004. I look forward to the input which the group will have to help formulate our future strategy.

Enterprise

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether all budgets have been set for local enterprise companies.

Mr Jim Wallace: The allocation of budgets to local enterprise companies is a matter for Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise. The budgets are set by the networks in the context of the preparation of the annual operating plans.

  Scottish Enterprise will decide the initial allocation of local enterprise budgets at its board meeting on 2 April 2004. Highlands and Islands Enterprise have already notified their local enterprise companies of initial allocations for 2004-05.

Equine Industry

Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on the amount of funding allocated to organisations involved in equine sports and the equine industry through (a)  sportscotland, (b) local authorities, (c) the New Opportunities Fund and (d) UK Sport, in each of the last three years.

Mr Frank McAveety: Sportscotland awards an annual development grant to the Scottish Equestrian Association, which it recognises as the umbrella body for equestrian activities in Scotland, to develop the sport. This has been set at £16,500 over the last three years and will be increased to £29,730 in 2004-05.

  Under the Lottery Sports Fund, sportscotland awarded equestrianism £321,694 in 2001-02, £98,632 in 2002-03 and £465,775 in 2003-04 over a number of its grant programmes.

  Information on funding from local authorities is not held centrally.

  The New Opportunities Fund does not have an explicit remit or programme to support equestrian activities. It has occasionally, through some of its broader grant schemes, awarded funding to a small number of individual projects that incorporate an equestrian element but it is not possible to disaggregate the amount of funding specifically for equestrianism.

  UK Sport provides funding to the British Equestrian Federation (BEF), the recognised governing body of horse sports in the UK. The BEF was awarded Exchequer grants of £187,000 in 2001-02 and 2002-03 and £203,666 in 2003-04.

  Over the last three years, UK Sport has awarded the BEF £2,663,334 lottery grant towards the delivery of the Federation’s World Class Performance Plan. A further £50,500 was released over the past year to support individual training needs in preparation for this year’s Olympic Games.

  UK Sport has also supported BEF under its governing body modernisation programme. In 2003-04 the Federation received £150,000 towards the costs of a review of its organisation and structure and a revision of its constitution.

  The Executive has provided a corrected answer which is published in the Written Answer Report on 23 April 2004: see http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/wa-04/wa0423.htm.

Fisheries

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many vessels constitute the Scottish white fish fleet.

Allan Wilson: There is no fixed defined whitefish fleet. There are some 550 over 10 metre vessels based in Scotland that hold Category A (whitefish) licences, of which some 450 landed some whitefish in 2003. However, the level of dependency on whitefish catches varies from vessel to vessel, with some catching mainly cod and haddock and others catching a wider range of fish, including nephrops. The recent strategy unit report used estimates of the value of landings of different types of fish to assess the economics of the UK fishing fleet.

Fisheries

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many fishing boats that catch whitefish have been based at (a) Whalsay and (b) Out Skerries in the Shetland Isles in each year since 1979.

Allan Wilson: Departmental records relating to individual ports are only available from 1985 onward. The number of fishing vessels based at the ports of Whalsay and Skerries that caught any amount of whitefish during each year since 1985 is shown in the following table.

  Active Fishing Vessels that Caught Whitefish and were Based at the Ports of Whalsay And Skerries, 1985 to 2003.

  

 Year
 Number 
  of vessels


 Skerries
 Whalsay


 1985
 2
 10


 1986
 3
 12


 1987
 2
 13


 1988
 3
 10


 1989
 4
 12


 1990
 2
 10


 1991
 2
 10


 1992
 3
 10


 1993*
 4
 13


 1994
 5
 11


 1995
 5
 10


 1996
 5
 11


 1997
 4
 9


 1998
 4
 14


 1999
 3
 14


 2000
 3
 11


 2001
 4
 8


 2002
 4
 8


 2003
 3
 9



  Note:

  *Prior to 1993 a fishing vessel licence was not required for vessels with an overall length of 10 metres or under. Consequently, these smaller vessels are excluded from the data between 1985 and 1992 inclusive.

Gaelic

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is satisfied that the new system for assessing future demand for teachers outlined in news release SEED2302/2004, will provide an accurate reflection of the required future number of teachers for Gaelic-medium education.

  The member has provided the following Gaelic translation:

  A dh’ fhaighneachd de Riaghaltas na h-Alba a bheil e cinnteach gum bi an siostam ùr gus tomhas a dhèanamh air cò mheud neach-teagaisg air am bi feum anns an àm ri teachd, mar a chaidh mìneachadh ann am fios naidheachd SEED2302/2004, a ' toirt seachad tomhas ceart air an àireamh de luchd-teagaisg Gàidhlig a bhios riatanach airson foghlam tro mheadhan na Gàidhlig san àm ri teachd.

Peter Peacock: Yes. The new school census collects information on the number of teachers teaching Gaelic or able to teach through Gaelic medium. This information will be used to give a more accurate picture of future changes in the teacher population in all of these areas. The Executive’s annual teacher vacancy survey, and the places offered by local authorities in the Teacher Induction Scheme, will also be used to inform the teacher workforce planning exercise of future local authority requirements.

Health

Mike Watson (Glasgow Cathcart) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to make provision for sufferers of chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalopathy (CFS/ME) following the recent announcement by Her Majesty's Government of funding for 12 new centres and local support teams for such patients in England.

Mr Tom McCabe: A framework for the provision of services for CFS/ME sufferers in Scotland was developed by a short life working group, set up by the Executive, and commended to NHS boards in February 2003. The Executive has asked boards for reports on action taken in the light of the working group’s report and has undertaken to convey the outcome to the Health and Community Care Committee.

Health

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what podiatry services, treatments and devices are available in the NHS and what the patient charges are for them.

Malcolm Chisholm: The planning and provision of NHS podiatry services are matters for NHS boards. Information concerning the range of podiatry services, treatments and devices in an NHS board’s area is available from the NHS board directly. As part of NHS service provision there is no charge to patients for NHS podiatry services.

Health

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many podiatrists are practicing in the NHS, broken down by NHS board.

Malcolm Chisholm: Information on staff in post in NHSScotland is published on the Scottish Health Statistics website under Workforce Statistics, at www.isdscotland.org/workforce. Information on podiatrists is published in Section F (Scientific, Therapeutic and Technical Staff (including Allied Health Professionals) employed in NHSScotland) in each year since 1993, broken down by NHS board area. Figures are presented as headcount or whole time equivalent. Whole time equivalent adjusts headcount staff figures to take account of part-time staff.

Holyrood Inquiry

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has made available to the Holyrood Inquiry documents comprising any memoranda, notes or reports from the current Chief Executive of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and Head of Legal and Parliamentary Services and/or the Architectural Adviser to the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body, acting in their capacity as members of the Holyrood Progress Group, to the Executive regarding discussions at meetings of the group, with particular reference to any confidential matters raised and, if so, to whom such memoranda, notes or reports were addressed, whether they received any written or other response and whether it will make any, or all, of any such material public and place copies in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre.

Ms Patricia Ferguson: The Scottish Executive continues to co-operate fully with the Fraser Inquiry, as it has from the outset. Oral evidence has been given to the Inquiry by the Chief Executive of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and Head of Legal and Parliamentary Services about his involvement in the work of the Holyrood Progress Group and the Executive has made available to the Inquiry relevant documentation.

  The Executive believes that it is important that the Inquiry is allowed to complete its task before there is any comment on any evidence submitted to it. The Executive has no plans to make any further documentation public, other than through the Inquiry. The Chief Architect has made no direct reports to ministers about the work of the Holyrood Progress Group.

Housing

Mr Bruce McFee (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has received from Renfrewshire Council regarding the council's plans for its housing stock.

Ms Margaret Curran: There have been a number of meetings with the council on the options open to the council for improving and maintaining its stock and we understand that the council is currently considering its position in light of the requirement to produce, by April 2005, a delivery plan to meet the Scottish Housing Quality Standard.

Housing

Mr Bruce McFee (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what council housing stock transfers are currently being progressed and which councils have indicated that they do not wish to participate in wholesale transfer.

Ms Margaret Curran: Western Isles, Argyll and Bute, Inverclyde and Stirling Councils are developing whole transfer proposals and East Dunbartonshire, City of Edinburgh and Fife Councils are progressing partial transfers. Other councils will be considering the future of their housing in light of the requirement to produce, by April 2005, a delivery plan to meet the Scottish Housing Quality Standard.

Justice

Mike Rumbles (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to implement the provision in the partnership agreement to provide sufficient secure accommodation and allow children who might otherwise be in secure accommodation to remain in the community through the use of electronic tagging.

Hugh Henry: I can confirm that the Antisocial Behaviour Bill will contain provision to allow under 16s, who might otherwise be in secure accommodation, to remain in the community through the use of electronic tagging. In addition work is underway to increase the secure estate from 96 to 125 places.

Justice

John Farquhar Munro (Ross, Skye and Inverness West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what action police forces are taking to tackle livestock theft.

Hugh Henry: Theft of livestock is a criminal act and is treated by the police in the same manner as any other theft. How individual forces deal with specific instances of livestock theft is an operational matter for the relevant chief constable.

Justice

Scott Barrie (Dunfermline West) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it plans to reduce the number of offences committed by individuals already granted bail.

Hugh Henry: The Sentencing Commission chaired by Lord McLean is reviewing the use of bail and remand. I have asked them as part of this review to give me their views on more effective sanctions against offending on bail. In the meanwhile we have lodged an amendment to the Criminal Procedure (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill which will introduce a power for the court to impose a remote monitoring restriction on the accused at its own hand in cases involving rape or murder.

  Further to this Reduce, Rehabilitate, Reform, the Executive’s consultation on reducing reoffending, is currently seeking views on how we can improve the effectiveness and consistency of the management of offenders across Scotland.

Justice

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is considering any early release schemes, in light of overcrowding in prisons.

Hugh Henry: Arrangements for the early release of prisoners are prescribed in the Prisoners and Criminal Proceedings (Scotland) Act 1993 as amended. There are no plans in place to amend those provisions. The Sentencing Commission for Scotland will as one of its first tasks be considering and making recommendations on the arrangements for early release.

Justice

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated cost of hotel accommodation for judges has been in each year since 1998.

Cathy Jamieson: The figures for the financial year 1998-99 are not available. Figures for subsequent years are as follows:

  Financial Year 1999 – 2004

  

 Year
 Amount


 1999-2000
 £61,285


 2000-01
 £41,900


 2001-02
 £56,444


 2002-03
 £67,855


 2003-04 (prov)
 £57,800

Justice

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the cost of the judges’ circuit car service has risen by 26% in line with the increase in judicial days from 1998 to 2003.

Cathy Jamieson: In my reply to question S2W-5639 I advised that the overall cost had risen from £75,792 to £199,000. The increase in sitting days was only one factor contributing to the increase in the cost of the car service.

Mining

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether coastal super quarries are still seen as an essential part of Scottish mineral development policies.

Mrs Mary Mulligan: The Executive’s policies on superquarries are set out in National Planning Policy Guideline 4: Land for Mineral Working. These policies will be considered as part of the current review of NPPG 4.

NHS Finance

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many NHS boards will carry forward a financial deficit into the new financial year.

Malcolm Chisholm: It is not yet known how many NHS boards will carry forward a financial deficit into the new financial year (2004-05). This will only be confirmed once audited accounts for the financial year 2003-04 are submitted to the Scottish Executive by 31 July 2004.

  It is difficult to predict how many NHS boards will incur a financial deficit in 2003-04 as projected figures are continually changing, and indeed improving.

National Health Service

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been received from road traffic (NHS charges) regulations in each year since their inception, broken down in respect of those treated (a) without admission to hospital and (b) in hospital, and how much it estimates will be received in each of the next three years in each category.

Malcolm Chisholm: The following table shows the level of costs recovered in respect of the NHS treatment of road traffic accident victims since the introduction of the Road Traffic (NHS Charges) Act 1999:

  

 Year
 Payments 
  made to Scottish NHS Trusts
£ million


 1999-2000
 1.837


 2000-2001
 4.595


 2001-2002
 5.971


 2002-2003
 5.818


 2003-2004 (to 29 February)
 5.162



  Information giving a breakdown of the amounts recovered in respect of those treated without admission to hospital and those treated in hospital is not held centrally by either the Scottish Executive or the Department for Work and Pension’s Compensation Recovery Unit which administers the scheme on behalf of the Executive. Neither is it possible to estimate the level of costs which will be recovered in respect of each category of treatment in the next three years.

Oil and Gas Industry

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has made to Cogent, the Sector Skills Council, in respect of the promotion of diversification into new technology and more sustainable production in the oil and gas sector.

Lewis Macdonald: When I spoke at the UK launch of Cogent on 2 March 2004, I underlined the importance of developing the skills base in the oil and gas industry to meet the new challenges and opportunities within the sector and beyond. I will meet with the Chairman and Chief Executive of Cogent soon, to discuss a range of matters relating to the operation and objectives of the sector skills council.

Planning

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-32874 by Des McNulty on 29 January 2003, how many telephone mast applications by mobile phone operators were (a) made, (b) granted, (c) refused, (d) granted on appeal and (e) refused on the grounds of health and safety and what the average time was for an application to be processed in (i) 2002 and (ii) 2003, broken down by local authority area.

Mrs Mary Mulligan: Tables 1 and 2 show information on planning applications for radio telecommunications infrastructure, including ground based masts, additional antennas, roof based masts and equipment housing. The figures show for each planning authority the number of planning applications received during the period, the numbers granted permission, the numbers refused permission, the numbers refused permission on grounds relating to health and safety and the average time taken to determine planning applications. The figures for upheld appeals are taken from the Scottish Executive’s records.

  Completion of the returns by planning authorities is voluntary, and there are therefore gaps in the returns. It should also be noted that where the number of grants/refusals of permission are higher than the number of applications received during the year this is due to the carrying over of applications from previous periods. Similarly, appeal decisions may relate to applications from an earlier period.

  Telecommunications Data 2002

  

 
 Applications 
  Made
 Granted
 Refused
 Granted 
  on Appeal
 Refused 
  on Health & Safety Grounds
 Average 
  time taken to determine (days)


 Aberdeen City*
 40
 31
 8
 2
 0
 82


 Aberdeenshire
 22
 26
 1
 1
 1
 74


 Angus
 16
 14
 1
 -
 0
 69


 Argyll and Bute
 41
 28
 1
 1
 0
 57


 Clackmannanshire*
 4
 1
 1
 -
 1
 63


 Dumfries & Galloway
 23
 27
 1
 -
 0
 78


 Dundee City
 19
 12
 5
 1
 0
 76


 East Ayrshire
 18
 13
 5
 1
 2
 115


 East Dunbartonshire
 28
 21
 6
 2
 3
 79


 East Lothian
 24
 17
 3
 -
 0
 72


 East Renfrewshire
 13
 14
 2
 1
 0
 85


 Edinburgh
 160
 131
 20
 2
 0
 79


 Eilean Siar*
 6
 6
 0
 0
 0
 48


 Falkirk*
 32
 14
 8
 2
 2
 79


 Fife
 46
 35
 9
 3
 2
 65


 Glasgow City*
 128
 *
 *
 1
 *
 *


 Highland
 13
 8
 4
 2
 1
 102


 Inverclyde
 12
 8
 2
 -
 0
 67


 Midlothian*
 8
 5
 1
 2
 0
 52


 Moray
 11
 12
 0
 -
 0
 57


 North Ayrshire
 19
 18
 3
 -
 0
 56


 North Lanarkshire
 40
 42
 6
 1
 2
 88


 Orkney*
 0
 *
 *
 -
 *
 *


 Perth and Kinross
 28
 25
 3
 3
 0
 104


 Renfrewshire
 38
 27
 7
 2
 0
 76


 Scottish Borders
 39
 14
 1
 -
 0
 92


 Shetland*
 3
 *
 *
 -
 0
 *


 South Ayrshire
 21
 21
 3
 -
 0
 87


 South Lanarkshire*
 77
 58
 3
 3
 0
 83


 Stirling
 16
 13
 3
 -
 0
 78


 West Dunbartonshire
 19
 11
 9
 0
 0
 68


 West Lothian
 41
 32
 4
 1
 0
 62



  Note: *Missing/incomplete return

  Telecommunications Data 2003

  

 
 Applications 
  Made
 Granted
 Refused
 Granted 
  on Appeal
 Refused 
  on Health & Safety Grounds
 Average 
  time taken to determine (days)


 Aberdeen City*
 32
 23
 4
 3
 0
 67


 Aberdeenshire*
 29
 18
 1
 -
 0
 52


 Angus
 20
 20
 3
 -
 0
 60


 Argyll and Bute
 43
 31
 2
 -
 0
 62


 Clackmannanshire*
 7
 4
 1
 2
 0
 55


 Dumfries & Galloway
 46
 44
 1
 -
 0
 65


 Dundee City*
 10
 8
 5
 1
 0
 66


 East Ayrshire*
 19
 13
 1
 1
 0
 135


 East Dunbartonshire
 13
 10
 4
 1
 1
 55


 East Lothian
 11
 12
 0
 2
 0
 38


 East Renfrewshire
 13
 9
 2
 -
 0
 53


 Edinburgh*
 84
 59
 7
 2
 0
 91


 Eilean Siar*
 20
 15
 1
 -
 0
 46


 Falkirk*
 6
 2
 1
 3
 0
 52


 Fife*
 35
 30
 2
 2
 2
 132


 Glasgow City*
 135
 *
 *
 2
 0
 *


 Highland*
 43
 35
 1
 2
 0
 55


 Inverclyde*
 6
 4
 1
 -
 0
 74


 Midlothian
 19
 15
 2
 -
 1
 77


 Moray
 21
 10
 0
 -
 0
 35


 North Ayrshire*
 *
 *
 *
 -
 0
 *


 North Lanarkshire
 32
 30
 3
 2
 0
 63


 Orkney*
 *
 0
 0
 -
 0
 *


 Perth and Kinross
 40
 40
 2
 1
 0
 91


 Renfrewshire*
 22
 31
 2
 2
 0
 67


 Scottish Borders*
 21
 45
 0
 -
 0
 47


 Shetland*
 0
 2
 0
 -
 0
 110


 South Ayrshire*
 18
 17
 2
 -
 0
 78


 South Lanarkshire
 37
 36
 2
 1
 0
 72


 Stirling
 10
 10
 1
 1
 0
 48


 West Dunbartonshire
 7
 1
 4
 1
 0
 60


 West Lothian*
 18
 13
 5
 3
 3
 64



  Note: *Missing/incomplete return.

Police

Helen Eadie (Dunfermline East) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the recent announcement by the Home Secretary that additional funding will be made available to the police to tackle terrorism, whether Scottish police forces will receive any additional funding.

Hugh Henry: Just as the Home Secretary has increased funding for police forces, to tackle terrorism, we have also provided additional funding to Scottish forces in recent years.

Prison Service

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress it has made in ending slopping out in all prisons.

Hugh Henry: New houseblocks costing £35 million were opened at Edinburgh Prison and Polmont Young Offenders Institution last year. Contracts worth £50 million were also awarded last year for new houseblocks at Edinburgh and Glenochil Prisons. These will open next summer. New houseblocks are also planned for HM Young Offenders Institute Polmont and HM Prison Perth.

Rail Services

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what support it will provide for improving access at Haymarket station.

Nicol Stephen: We are considering, along with Network Rail, the Strategic Rail Authority and the City of Edinburgh Council, how best to improve Haymarket Station. Better access to the station is part of that consideration.

Rail Services

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what relative financial contributions it and the Strategic Rail Authority will make to the upgrade at Waverley Station.

Nicol Stephen: Discussions on the Waverley Station upgrade are continuing and decisions will be announced in due course.

Roads

Mr Jamie McGrigor (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive when further improvement of the A830 trunk road from Arisaig to Loch nan Uamh will commence, following the recent commemoration of the A830 trunk road from Arisaig to Kinsadel improvement.

Nicol Stephen: Draft Road Orders for this section were published last week. When I visited Arisaig to make this announcement, I confirmed that work on the new section of road was expected to start in late 2005.

Schools

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it has taken to address concerns about guidelines on school rationalisation since its letter of 12 March 2003 to the Education, Culture and Sport Committee and what impact such action will have on the current consultation on school closures in the rural communities of Midlothian.

Peter Peacock: Following discussion with COSLA, we will prepare guidance for parents and local authorities, to raise understanding of the processes and the responsibilities of the respective parties.

Schools

Colin Fox (Lothians) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the decision to close six schools in Edinburgh and five schools in Midlothian has been taken with the best educational interests of children in mind.

Peter Peacock: Education authorities are always required to act in light of their statutory duties to provide adequate and efficient education, to improve the quality of that education, and to ensure that it is directed to developing children’s fullest potential. Detailed policies and decisions are a matter for each authority.

Smoking

Karen Whitefield (Airdrie and Shotts) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any plans to extend its anti-smoking campaign to young people, particularly young women.

Mr Tom McCabe: Preventing young people from starting to smoke is a matter of great importance to the Scottish Executive, and many of our initiatives directly target young women.

  A "Breath of Fresh Air for Scotland", the first ever tobacco action plan designed specifically for Scotland, commits the Executive to undertake a review of the current national tobacco education and communication programmes and build any learning into the development of a coherent long-term communication strategy on prevention activity. Young people, particularly young women, will remain a principle target for prevention messages.

  In addition. the Executive, in partnership with NHS Health Scotland, will also commission research with young people to provide a clearer picture of the factors that lead them to start or resist smoking, with particular emphasis on developing messages that have a resonance with young women.

Tourism

George Lyon (Argyll and Bute) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how small tourism providers will engage with the new tourist hubs.

Mr Frank McAveety: Each of the 14 tourism hubs will sit at the centre of tourism activity in their areas, as the area tourism boards (ATBs) do at the moment. They will seek to maintain and build on the strong links which the ATBs already have with tourism businesses in their areas, as well as with tourism action groups, local authorities, local enterprise companies and other players.

Vaccines

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it is taking to encourage NHS boards not to use vaccines containing mercury.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), a statutory independent expert advisory committee, advises UK health departments on matters relating to vaccination and immunisation.

  The UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), with advice from the independent expert advisory committee, the Committee on Safety of Medicines (CSM), is responsible for ensuring that vaccines are safe and effective for those who use them.

  The CSM has reviewed the safety of vaccines which contain thiomersal (a preservative compound that includes ethylmercury) on a number of occasions, most recently in February 2003. It advised that, with the exception of hypersensitivity reactions, that typically include skin rashes or local swelling at the site of the injection, there is no evidence of harm from the levels of thiomersal contained in some vaccines. It concluded that the balance of benefits and risks of thiomersal-containing vaccines therefore remains overwhelmingly positive.

  As such, some thiomersal-containing vaccines are currently recommended for use in the UK because, on the basis of the best scientific evidence and advice, they provide the most effective clinical protection against a range of serious diseases.

  As a precautionary measure, however, to reduce avoidable exposure to mercury in general, it has been agreed on a European-wide basis that, even though there is no evidence of toxicity, as a precautionary measure, thiomersal should be substituted or reduced as soon as safe and effective thiomersal-free alternatives become available and licensed for use in the UK. Work is proceeding to this end.

  This approach has been endorsed by the JCVI, the CSM, the MHRA and the Executive.